The Bounty
by The Chopman Knows
Summary: One shot. Might make a series if people like it.


Laughter and a chorus of voices echoed from the restaurant as the two shinobi approached. Nobody paid much attention to the men as they approached the bar and claimed two stools. One of them, a tall, thickly built man with shoulder length blonde hair raised his hand to get the bartender's attention.

"Two cups of saké" he said as he placed his money on the counter.

"You sure you should do that? We're not even sure they'll show up tonight, and I'm not looking for any trouble we won't be getting paid for." His friend, a slightly shorter but more muscular man, with short hair and a well trimmed beard and mustache said, his eyes scanning the room for any potential threats.

"Relax" he said as the bartender put two cups down and filled them to the brim,

"I've been doing this long enough that I can have a few without going crazy." The long haired one grabbed both of the cups and quickly knocked them back, one after the other.

"Hey, Luke" his friend said, nodding his head towards the door, "our friends are here."

A drunken smile spread across Luke's face as he reached up to tie his hair in a bun. "Finally. We've been coming here every night for damn near a week waiting for them to show up."

Rising from his stool, his friend smirked and said, "Yeah, and their bounties will barely cover the bar tab you've run up, you drunk."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't beat their friend so hard he would've been able to tell us more than just the town they're hiding out in." Luke said. "Besides, it's not like you didn't drink your fair share these past few nights, Jon." They grinned at each other for a moment before they looked forward and their faces went deadly serious. Luke took a deep drink from the jug hanging at his belt as they approached the two men they'd been waiting on. "Hey, you two. Are you Jaret and Wyno?"

Jaret, a short, bald man rose from his chair. "What's it to you two? Do we know you?"

Jon spoke first. "No, but we've been looking for you for a while. How about you come outside and have a chat with us?"

Now, Wyno, a man with square glasses and slicked back black hair stood. "I'll be damned if I'm going anywhere with anyone. Especially a couple fools that think they're tough enough to handle Jaret and Wyno, Mud Men of the Hidden Sand!"

Jaret kicked the table up at Luke and ran towards the door, Wyno following close behind. With a loud crack, Luke's foot slammed into the table, shattering it into pieces. The duo ran outside, hoping to catch their prey before they escaped.

Jon quickly made signs with his hands, "Lightning Style: Bolt Dash Jutsu!" In the blink of an eye, Jon's body turned to pure electricity that arced up and over his two enemies, making impact a few feet in front of them, kicking up a cloud of dust. As it began to clear, they made out the form of Jon, crouched low, a deadly sharp sai in his left hand, a chained scythe crackling with electricity hanging from the right. The two rogue ninjas turned to run, but stopped when they came face to face with Luke, taking gulps from his jug.

"You know, someone's gonna have to pay for that table." Luke said, putting the cork back in his jug and taking a few staggering steps towards the two Sand Ninja.

"Let's take this drunk idiot down and get the hell out of here" Jaret said, running straight towards Luke, kunai in hand. Jaret swung at Luke's head, but he caught the blade in his teeth, flashing a huge grin at Jaret's shock. While he was still stunned, Luke slammed his foot down on Jaret's toes with a loud crunch and a cry of pain from Jaret.

Just a few feet away, Jon dashed toward Wyno, bringing his arm back to swing his scythe toward the man's chest. Wyno's hands made signs, quick as a whirlwind. "Earth Style: Heart of Stone!" Rocks formed around his chest in a suit of armor just as Jon's scythe slammed into it, burying half the blade into it. Jon released the chain and reached down to his leg, drawing his other sai, twirling it briefly before settling into a backhanded grip.

The duo rushed their enemies down in a storm of stabs, slashes, punches, and kicks, getting them to retreat till they were back to back. Then, they caught each other's eye and nodded for a brief moment. Jon, recognizing the signal, jumped over the two, yanking his scythe from Wyno's chest, while Luke backed up, the two taking a moment to regroup and strategize.

"What're you thinking, Jon?" the drunken fighter said, taking this opportunity to take another swig from his jug, "think they're tough enough to pose a threat?"

"I'm not sure. We caught them by surprise so I haven't been able to get a good read on their strength."

"Well, get ready, looks like they're preparing something right now."

Sure enough, when Jon turned his head he saw that the duo were both making hand signs. Jaret said in an overconfident voice "This is why they call us the Mud Men, you bounty hunting scum!"

They both spoke in unison

"Earth Style: Dirt Nap Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Wave of Terror Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the dirt under Jon and Luke's feet started climbing up their legs to their knees while water shot forward from Jaret's feet, mixing with the dirt to make mud so thick that neither of them could even take a step forward. Then, they slowly started sinking down all the way to their waists. Jon gave Luke a knowing look, and they both stopped struggling.

Jaret laughed, "Give up already? I don't blame you, I'd be frozen in terror too if I was up against the Mud Men of the Hidden Sand." He pulled out two kunai and started walking towards the two bounty hunters.

Almost too fast to see, Jon's scythe swung up from the mud behind him and slammed down into Jaret's skull with a loud thud. Blood leaked down his face as he gasped for air and tried to process what happened before he sank to his knees and then collapsed into a heap on the ground. With a sharp tug on the chain, Jon yanked the blade from his head. Then, he threw it into the hard dirt a few feet away and pulled himself out of the mud.

While Jon passed the chain to Luke so he could pull himself out, Wyno shook himself out of the shock of seeing his partner killed so suddenly. Furiously, he formed some hand signs and shouted "You bastards are gonna pay for that! Earth Style: Earthen Armor Jutsu!" He kneeled and slammed his fist on the ground and solid dirt started climbing up his arm and legs until it formed a full suit of armor with a thin visor to see out of.

Luke and Jon take a moment to exchange looks, and Luke runs full speed at Wyno, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks on him. Wyno, completely unphased, starts swinging his fists at Luke, but the unpredictable movements of Luke's Drunken Fist style keep him from laying a finger on him. "Crazy Corkscrew!" Luke shouted, crouching down and launching himself into a headfirst spin right into Wyno's chest, barely cracking the thick dirt armor.

Luke stumbled backwards towards Jon. "We might need to bring out something a bit heavier for this one, Jon"

"I'm thinking something a bit...explosive." Jon replied

With that, Lucas pulled out a scroll and slammed his hand down on it. When the ensuing cloud cleared, Luke was hefting a giant cask of wine onto his shoulder. Jon swung his scythe around, then threw it at Wyno, wrapping the chain around his body. With a pull and a grunt of effort, Jon managed to bring the fugitive down. Luke ran at him, slammed the cask down on top of him, and then back flipped away yelling "Drunken Thunder!"

Jon drew a sai, threw it on top of the cask, and quickly made jutsu signs. "Saké Bomb!" He said, and a bolt of lightning struck the sai, causing the whole wine cask to explode, engulfing Wyno in flames. When the flames died down, Wyno's armor had crumbled away and nothing remained but his charred corpse.

Breathing heavily, Luke pulled out another scroll, this one summoning a large empty barrel. He picked up the two bounties' bodies and put them in the barrel. Luke closed the barrel, sealed it, then picked it up and put it on his shoulder. "You ready?" He said, looking at Jon.

"Yeah. You sure you'll be able to carry those two all the way back to the Hidden Sand Village?"

Luke grabbed his jug and shook it a bit to see how much wine he had left. "Hmmm, I'm running a bit low. I figure I can make it as long as we stop for a refill at some point."

Jon shook his head. "Whatever you say, you alcoholic, but this refill's coming out of your cut."

Luke let out a hearty laugh and shook his head, his drunk mind trying to think of a good joke as they both walked down the road back toward the Village Hidden in the Sand, and many more adventures to come.


End file.
